A Voice for Species Conservation

Tue, 26 Aug 2008

Why should we care about species when the world has so many other challenges to face? Help us create a Global Voice for Species Conservation!

Photo: IUCN/Sue Mainka

You're invited to help create a compelling, persuasive statement that answers this question. This statement will be presented to thousands of people attending the World Conservation Congress in Barcelona in October 2008.

Using wiki technology, we will collaboratively create a compelling, persuasive statement, multi-authored and readable by experts and non-experts alike, making clear that conserving the world's species is relevant to us all even when weighed against so many other challenges facing people across the world.

A wiki is a web page that can be created and edited by many people. When done right, wikis can be fun while at the same time condensing the understanding of many people from all walks of life on a single, very serious subject.

Rates of extinction are increasing in response to habitat loss, climate change, over-exploitation, alien invasive species and other factors. However, there is still a feeling that species conservation is a fringe activity, driven by people who are obsessed with animals and plants, rather than something that should be a core concern for humankind. The Global Amphibian Assessment revealed that the world’s amphibians were going extinct far quicker than anyone had realised. This provoked a short-term expression of concern, which quickly dissipated. Did people wonder why does it matter if some frogs they had never heard of disappeared from an obscure part of the world that they were never likely to visit?

How can we put forward persuasive arguments that make sure that people really do care, and continue to care about species?